TY - JOUR

T1 - Distance decay 2.0 – A global synthesis of taxonomic and functional turnover in ecological communities

AU - Graco-Roza, Caio

AU - Aarnio, Sonja

AU - Abrego, Nerea

AU - Acosta, Alicia T.R.

AU - Alahuhta, Janne

AU - Altman, Jan

AU - Angiolini, Claudia

AU - Aroviita, Jukka

AU - Attorre, Fabio

AU - Baastrup-Spohr, Lars

AU - Barrera-Alba, José J.

AU - Belmaker, Jonathan

AU - Biurrun, Idoia

AU - Bonari, Gianmaria

AU - Bruelheide, Helge

AU - Burrascano, Sabina

AU - Carboni, Marta

AU - Cardoso, Pedro

AU - Carvalho, José C.

AU - Castaldelli, Giuseppe

AU - Christensen, Morten

AU - Correa, Gilsineia

AU - Dembicz, Iwona

AU - Dengler, Jürgen

AU - Dolezal, Jiri

AU - Domingos, Patricia

AU - Erös, Tibor

AU - Ferreira, Carlos E. L.

AU - Filibeck, Goffredo

AU - Floeter, Sergio R.

AU - Friedlander, Alan M.

AU - Gammal, Johanna

AU - Gavioli, Anna

AU - Gossner, Martin M.

AU - Granot, Itai

AU - Guarino, Riccardo

AU - Gustafsson, Camilla

AU - Hayden, Brian

AU - He, Siwen

AU - Heilmann-Clausen, Jacob

AU - Heino, Jani

AU - Hunter, John T.

AU - Huszar, Vera L. M.

AU - Janišová, Monika

AU - Jyrkänkallio-Mikkola, Jenny

AU - Kahilainen, Kimmo K.

AU - Kemppinen, Julia

AU - Kozub, Łukasz

AU - Kruk, Carla

AU - Kulbiki, Michel

AU - Kuzemko, Anna

AU - Christiaan le Roux, Peter

AU - Lehikoinen, Aleksi

AU - Teixeira de Lima, Domênica

AU - Lopez-Urrutia, Angel

AU - Lukács, Balázs A.

AU - Luoto, Miska

AU - Mammola, Stefano

AU - Marinho, Marcelo M.

AU - Menezes, Luciana S.

AU - Milardi, Marco

AU - Miranda, Marcela

AU - Moser, Gleyci A. O.

AU - Mueller, Joerg

AU - Niittynen, Pekka

AU - Norkko, Alf

AU - Nowak, Arkadiusz

AU - Ometto, Jean P.

AU - Ovaskainen, Otso

AU - Overbeck, Gerhard E.

AU - Pacheco, Felipe S.

AU - Pajunen, Virpi

AU - Palpurina, Salza

AU - Picazo, Félix

AU - Campos, Juan Antonio

AU - Rodil, Iván F.

AU - Sabatini, Francesco M.

AU - Salingré, Shira

AU - De Sanctis, Michele

AU - Segura, Angel M.

AU - da Silva, Lucia H. S.

AU - Stevanovic, Zora D.

AU - Swacha, Grzegorz

AU - Teittinen, Anette

AU - Tolonen, Kimmo T.

AU - Tsiripidis, Ioannis

AU - Virta, Leena

AU - Wang, Beixin

AU - Wang, Jianjun

AU - Weisser, Wolfgang

AU - Xu, Yuan

AU - Soininen, Janne

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Global Ecology and Biogeography published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Aim: Understanding the variation in community composition and species abundances (i.e., β-diversity) is at the heart of community ecology. A common approach to examine β-diversity is to evaluate directional variation in community composition by measuring the decay in the similarity among pairs of communities along spatial or environmental distance. We provide the first global synthesis of taxonomic and functional distance decay along spatial and environmental distance by analysing 148 datasets comprising different types of organisms and environments. Location: Global. Time period: 1990 to present. Major taxa studied: From diatoms to mammals. Method: We measured the strength of the decay using ranked Mantel tests (Mantel r) and the rate of distance decay as the slope of an exponential fit using generalized linear models. We used null models to test whether functional similarity decays faster or slower than expected given the taxonomic decay along the spatial and environmental distance. We also unveiled the factors driving the rate of decay across the datasets, including latitude, spatial extent, realm and organismal features. Results: Taxonomic distance decay was stronger than functional distance decay along both spatial and environmental distance. Functional distance decay was random given the taxonomic distance decay. The rate of taxonomic and functional spatial distance decay was fastest in the datasets from mid-latitudes. Overall, datasets covering larger spatial extents showed a lower rate of decay along spatial distance but a higher rate of decay along environmental distance. Marine ecosystems had the slowest rate of decay along environmental distances. Main conclusions: In general, taxonomic distance decay is a useful tool for biogeographical research because it reflects dispersal-related factors in addition to species responses to climatic and environmental variables. Moreover, functional distance decay might be a cost-effective option for investigating community changes in heterogeneous environments.

AB - Aim: Understanding the variation in community composition and species abundances (i.e., β-diversity) is at the heart of community ecology. A common approach to examine β-diversity is to evaluate directional variation in community composition by measuring the decay in the similarity among pairs of communities along spatial or environmental distance. We provide the first global synthesis of taxonomic and functional distance decay along spatial and environmental distance by analysing 148 datasets comprising different types of organisms and environments. Location: Global. Time period: 1990 to present. Major taxa studied: From diatoms to mammals. Method: We measured the strength of the decay using ranked Mantel tests (Mantel r) and the rate of distance decay as the slope of an exponential fit using generalized linear models. We used null models to test whether functional similarity decays faster or slower than expected given the taxonomic decay along the spatial and environmental distance. We also unveiled the factors driving the rate of decay across the datasets, including latitude, spatial extent, realm and organismal features. Results: Taxonomic distance decay was stronger than functional distance decay along both spatial and environmental distance. Functional distance decay was random given the taxonomic distance decay. The rate of taxonomic and functional spatial distance decay was fastest in the datasets from mid-latitudes. Overall, datasets covering larger spatial extents showed a lower rate of decay along spatial distance but a higher rate of decay along environmental distance. Marine ecosystems had the slowest rate of decay along environmental distances. Main conclusions: In general, taxonomic distance decay is a useful tool for biogeographical research because it reflects dispersal-related factors in addition to species responses to climatic and environmental variables. Moreover, functional distance decay might be a cost-effective option for investigating community changes in heterogeneous environments.

KW - biogeography

KW - environmental gradient

KW - spatial distance

KW - trait

KW - β-diversity

U2 - 10.1111/geb.13513

DO - 10.1111/geb.13513

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35915625

AN - SCOPUS:85130106663

VL - 31

SP - 1399

EP - 1421

JO - Global Ecology and Biogeography

JF - Global Ecology and Biogeography

SN - 1466-822X

IS - 7

ER -